The Green Colour of Paradisal Garden and Metaphoric Water: A Divine Gift and Promise from Allah to His People in the Islamic Religion and Environment

Water is the origin of life and the basis on earth. It is deep-rooted as the religion to purify the human soul. In Islam, it makes Muslims feel grateful to Allah as divine generosity. The Court of the Lion in Alhambra elaborates the Koranic verse of “Gardens underneath which rivers flow”. Channels and pools were developed for visual beauty and incorporated into sophisticated building schemes. Water is a complement to the nature in architecture, conveying a sense of repose and freshness. It creates openness and breadth to the enclosed spaces. Moreover, the beautiful nature is Allah’s sign which Muslims contemplate on them. Garden is the space of this meditation and an earthly reflection of Paradise. It is the perfect state of the world. A question arises: what signifies the notion of Paradise? It is a green colour, a linguistic-visual sign. In semiotics, Saussure (1959) divides linguistic signs to the signifier and the signified – a concept or meanings by the signifier. Various meanings are a result of arbitrary relationships between the two factors, caused by perceptions, emotions, and interpretations. This paper focuses on the semiotics of the green colour, to manifest the paradisal garden and metaphoric water in the Islamic religion and environment.